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North American Union
The North American Union (or NAU) is a political and economic union of nations located primarily in North America. It was founded on April 9, 1994 with help from the Romans and Arameans in response to the collapse of North America's dominant power, the United States of America, which created a multitude of successor states. The purpose of the Union was to ensure that the old economic, political and cultural framework of North America could be preserved as much as possible, but sovereignty disputes- both between nations and between the nations and the NAU as a whole- disparities in the wealth of member nations and the meddling of Rome and Aram in NAU affairs have meant that the NAU is still far from being a smoothly-run entity. On July 12, 2016, the Treaty of Buffalo was signed by the world's major powers in the City of Buffalo. This treaty spelled out all the countries the major powers agreed to officially recognize, with the treaty signed in response to a spontaneous night of worldwide rioting known as the Night of Anarchy, with many of those riots occurring in North America. Part of the agreement sees the NAU essentially "split in half" with the northern half being referred to as "Canada" while the southern half is referred to as "America" (or, more specifically, the "Union of States in America" or "USA") alongside the territory of the Empire of New York, recognized as a unique signatory. This change is merely cosmetic, designed to more formally recognize Roman (Canada) and Aramean (America) spheres of influences, as no changes in government structures occurred. Governance The NAU is administered by the Union Congress, which sits in Washington, DC in what is left of the United States of America. The Congress is divided into two levels: the lower level is the House of Representatives, elected to six year terms by a direct popular vote, with the higher level being the House of Lieutenants, one each appointed by each of the NAU's member states. Above both levels at the top of the Congress is the President, elected directly by the people to an eight year term, with the next election scheduled for 2019. As bound by the North American Constitution, no President can serve a second term. The President is elected via the electoral college, where each member of the Union is given a certain amount of "electors" (based roughly on the Union member state's population) who vote based on the proportion of the popular vote in their member state, unless one nominee scores more than 50% of the vote which allows the nominee to claim all the electors for that state. The Presidential candidates come one each from registered political parties, with the two most popular parties being the Unionist Party (also known as the POP, short for "People's Official Party") and the Federalist Party. Each party selects their candidate based on a state-by-state nomination process that essentially works like the electoral college, with some differences. Effectively, Congress serves as solely as a place of "dispute resolution" between member states, drafting legally-binding resolutions that outline the agreement the disputers had reached, with Congress rarely enacting laws on its own. This is because Congress' powers are severely curtailed by the Constitution (backed by the Romans), which aimed to protect the sovereignty of the new states as much as possible. Legally, Congress does have the ability to administer continent-wide functions such as the Interstate highway system and the Foederatio Borealis Indigatores Imperiale (FBII) law enforcement network (which also contains three affiliate networks- the California Bureau of Investigation (CBI), New York Imperial Police (NYIP) and the Arctic Police Federation (ABF)), but, due in large part to Roman financial assistance and the terms of their agreement with Rome in chartering the NAU, Congress' continental affairs are in large part guided by the Romans, if not outright dictated by them. This is especially true in the case of the FBII, as it is legally and practically a Roman institution operating on North American soil, and, while NAU member states have armies of their own, a large presence of Roman soldiers (and a lesser extent of Aramean ones) exists within the NAU, with Rome installing a Prefect to administer its law enforcement and military operations in North America in 2015. History Pre-NAU Timeline -c. 1500-1700: Rome, Britain, France, Russia and Spain move on North American soil and establish successful colonies, eventually dividing the continent amongst themselves: Rome in what would eventually become Roman Columbia, Russia in Alaska, Spain in Florida and the western half of North America south of the 49th parallel all the way to the Rockies and the southern Red River, Britain in Newfoundland, east of the Rockies, what would later become Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, Montana, the Canadian Arctic, the entire Canadian Shield and along the entire eastern seaboard, and France everywhere else. -1722: British victory at Fortaleza de Valdez (present day Astoria) pushes Spain's claim to North America southward to the 42nd parallel, with the British calling this territory "Oregon". Rome disputes this claim, and border skirmishes and deep raids on both sides occur until 1795. -1756-63: Seven Year's War is fought primarily between Britain and France across the globe, following defeat at the Battle of the Plains of Abraham (1759) near present-day Quebec City, France is forced to recognize by treaty following the war's conclusion the transfer of its territories east of the Mississippi River to Britain. -1775-83: American War of Independence fought between Britain and its Thirteen Colonies (already existing along the entire eastern seaboard except for Florida) ends with the Colonies being victorious. The Colonies formally establish themselves as the Federated States of America and are granted Britain's territories south of the Great Lakes and the Saint Lawrence River by the Treaty of Paris. -1795: Treaty of Washington formally establishes the 49th parallel and the Juan de Fuca Strait as the border between Rome and Britain in North America. -1804: Louisiana Purchase sees French territory (except Saint Pierre et Miquelon) transferred to America for cash. -1812-15: War of 1812 between Britain and America ends in stalemate and the continuation of the status quo. -1818-24: Following the events of Simon Bolivar's War, Spain's North American territories southward to the Yucatan Peninsula are reconstituted as the independent country of Mexico. -1828: Mexicans defeat Spain at Tampico, as a result of the victory General Antonio Lopez de Santa Anna is declared Emperor by the Mexican Congress. -1826-42: The Great Anglo-Roman War sees the Romans decisively defeat the British in North America, marching successfully from Borealis all the way to the Atlantic and Arctic coasts, effectively evicting the British from North America. The Treaty of Ottawa would establish Roman rule right to the border with New Brunswick, reducing British territory to Oregon, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland, Prince Edward Island and southern Baffin Island. -1834: Seeing Congress as ineffective, Santa Anna decrees the institution be dissolved, which leads to widespread dissent across Mexico. -1836-38: Texan War of Independence between Texas and the Mexican Empire ends with a resounding Texan victory. Mexico is forced to recognize Texan independence following the Treaty of San Jacinto. -1845: Following fears of Mexican reconquest, Texas votes to formally accept annexation into America. -January-May 1846: Romans repulse attempted American invasion of Roman Columbia. -1846: Oregon Treaty formally cedes Oregon to America in exchange for cash and resources that helps Britain recover from the devastating loss against the Romans. -1846-48: Mexican-American War: Americans decisively defeat the Mexicans (who initiated the conflict after Texas voted to join America) and take over the entire country, with the vast majority of the Mexican people being taken as prisoners of war. This led to America being informally known as the "American Empire". This name would stick for the remainder of the Federation's existence, despite the fact it never formally adopted the name. -March 9, 1848: Led by pro-slave politician Cameron Wilbur (who would later be elected President in 1848), American Congress would pass the Mexican Enslavement Act. This act stripped every Mexican of their citizenry and established every one of them as a slave for the American people, millions of whom moved into the newly conquered territories. The Act also formally ended the "slave/non-slave" divide that had existed before in America. -1849-50: Seeking its first colonies and more slaves for its slaveowners, America invades and successfully annexes the Senegambia region of Africa. -1853-55: Russo-Roman War: Alaska is annexed to Rome. -1854: Anti-slavery sentiments lead to the establishment of the Republican Party, who quickly gain prominence in American politics. A combination of poor funding and "dirty politics" from Joe Drexler (Wilbur's Vice-President) leads to John C. Fremont's defeat in 1856. -1860: Illinois Senator Abraham Lincoln is defeated by Drexler in that year's election. Drexler's victory comes amidst more accusations of "dirty tricks" being performed by Drexler, who sought to stem the growing tide of anti-slavery sentiments in American politics. Lincoln, whose only base of support was in the northeastern quarter of America, joined with other northern politicians to form the United States of America (USA), who formed their own Congress in New York City and declared independence at the end of the year. -1861: American Civil War begins between the USA (in this context, simply the "Union") and the Government of American Empire (or simply in this context, the "Empire") with an Imperial victory at Cincinnati. The Union were aided in their war effort by Rome, while the Empire drew support from the British. Roman support at this stage was purely economical and tactical, while British support was done in secret, since Britain had formally abolished slavery itself in 1832. -1862: Capture of Thomas Scott by legendary figure John Muldoon (a Senegambian who escaped slavery by fleeing to Rome) revealed British support of the Empire, causing Rome to formally declare war on the Empire and Britain. -1863: Union victories at the Battles of Gettysburg and Bull Run turn the tide of the Civil War in favour of the Union. -1865: Siege of Atlanta ends with Union and Roman forces burning the entire city down, putting the Empire on the defensive for the rest of the War. After defeat at the Battle of Five Forks on December 23, the Empire sues for peace. -1866: Following the Peace of Madrid, the United States is reconstituted as “free state” North, with the South becoming the Carolinian Empire. Utah, Colorado and Nevada become independent as the Deseret Republic. California also becomes independent, and Mexico is split into three different republics- Northern Mexico (which includes southern Arizona), Sinaloa (central Mexico) and Golden Mexico (southern Mexico). In exchange for the annexation of Texas, southern Florida, Nuevo Leon and the eastern Gulf Coast of Mexico, Rome agrees to sell its Canadian territory to the new U.S. -1870: First Californian-Northern Mexican War: California defeats a Northern Mexican invasion at Calexico. -1872: Officially barred by treaty from allowing slavery, Carolina enacts the first in a series of laws that would later be named "Jim Crow Laws" that would effectively create separate classes of citizens, largely to the benefit of Carolina's white population at the detriment of everyone else. -1888: Second California-Northern Mexico War: California again defeats another Northern Mexican invasion attempt, this time near Arizona. -1890: California stakes a claim in Africa, defeating and annexing the Kingdom of Guinea after a five year war. -1896: Danish-American War sees the U.S. reemerge as a global power, as the Americans' decisive defeat of Denmark allows them to annex Greenland and Iceland, territories Denmark had vowed to defend. -1905: The Nashville Uprising sees Carolina brutally suppress scores of black protesters, serving as justification by the Carolinians to enact more discriminatory laws in an effort to "control" its minority populations. -1912: The maiden voyage of the RMS Titanic crashes near the coast of Newfoundland. To date, it is the largest maritime tragedy in history, with the tragedy used to spur safety reforms within maritime travel. -1914: The U.S. officially declares its neutrality at the outset of World War I, although border skirmishes occur throughout the year between the North American states. -May 7, 1915: The sinking of the RMS Lusitania swayed American and Carolinian opinions against Germany and towards involvement in the war, which became official a year later. -September 26, 1915: Texas and its environs renamed the "Republic of Romairica" (shortened from "Roman America") after a large influx of Roman settlers into the region over the previous few decades changed the demographics of the region. -1918: World War I ends with victory by the Triple Entende, boosted by the interventions of Rome and America. The U.S. refrains from territorial acquisition, believing imperialism inspired the Great War, and is behind creating the League of Nations (LN) as a place for international diplomacy. -1922: Imprisonment of Mahatma Gandhi by British authorities in Freemantle, Australia after Gandhi led several anti-discrimination campaigns marked by civil disobedience. His imprisonment is condemned by the American government and the LN. -1924: Successful lobbying by the Americans- asking for compassion with regards to Gandhi's appendicitis- sees Gandhi released from prison. -1925: California and Deseret sign a trade deal where California gives Deseret access to its resources in exchange for Deseret providing California access to its water supply. -August 1926: William Lyon Mackenzie King, Governor of Ontario, gets into a dispute with U.S. President Calvin Coolidge over prospecting issues near James Bay. King's troubles stir Canadian sentiment towards demanding independence, with King- reluctantly at first- becoming its unofficial spokesman. -November 1926: California signs more trade deals with Northern Mexico and Sinaloa, which causes California's economy to grow rapidly as it gained access to new markets. -1927: Riots in Guinea occur throughout the year, only ending after California and Guinea come to an agreement guaranteeing the Guineans a measure of autonomy in their colony. -1928: American-Desereti War ends with the Peace of Amarillo and the re-establishment of the status quo, war had broken out over American concerns that the Desereti were raiding American territory for women, concerns that were later proven to be unfounded. -January 8, 1929: The U.S., California, Deseret, Northern Mexico and Rome come to an agreement to establish the North American Highway Network, the precursor to the Interstate highway system. -October 29, 1929: "Black Tuesday" sees North American stock markets crash, marking the beginning of a heavy economic downturn across the globe that would soon be termed as the Great Depression. -1933: Bus Riots in Alabama by the black population are brutally suppressed by Carolinian forces. -1936: Due to hardships imposed by the Depression, Britain is forced to recognize Australian independence after Gandhi's campaigning reached a crescendo, with American and Roman forces pledging Gandhi their support if the British interfered any further with his actions. American and British relations are soured considerably after this point, causing the British to align themselves with Thomas Rotler and his Falken Party which had turned around Germany's fortunes after World War I. The alliance, which formally includes Japan and Galatia as well, becomes known as the Axis alliance, shortened from the official name, the London-Berlin-Ctesiphon-Tokyo Axis. -1939: World War II officially begins with the Battle of Reykjavik between the Americans and British, Britain's resounding victory forces U.S. troops to withdraw from Iceland. -January-June 1940: British advances force the U.S. to abandon Greenland, soon, battles would reach North American soil itself as the British defeat the Americans at Chicoutimi (February 19), Rimouski (February 26), Augusta (March 5), Montreal (March 12-16) and Burlington, Vermont (March 14), culminating in the fierce Battle of Boston (April-June) which sees the entire city almost completely destroyed and the Americans forced to withdraw to New York State. -June-August 1940: Later called "Our Darkest Hour", New York City falls to the British, allowing them to push southward. Britain also makes gains in Ontario, capturing Sudbury (July 4, 1940) and North Bay (July 1, 1940). -September 3, 1940: Despite popular opinion favouring an alliance with Britain, Carolinian Emperor Russell Murphy declares war on the Axis powers. Carolinian resistance is weak, however, as many in the populace believe their views more closely align with the Axis, so Britain has a relatively easy time taking over the Carolinian Empire, where the Axis installs its own puppet regime under Irving Dudley. -October 7, 1940: Gandhi's body is discovered at a hotel in Helene, Birea, with investigators revealing Gandhi had been killed three days prior. Suspicion immediately fell on the Japanese, who were advancing on Australia and knew that without Gandhi (the only one who proved capable of unifying Australia's many ethnicities and noble families who frequently clashed for power and Australia's abundant resources) Australia would be an easy acquisition. To this day, Gandhi's true killer remains unknown. -1941: Japanese advancements in the Pacific see the capture of Australia (except the extreme southeast and New Zealand, both taken by Rome), culminating in the Bombing of Pearl Harbour on December 7 and Japan's subsequent annexation of Hawaii on December 10. -February 24-25, 1942: Battle of Los Angeles: Japanese forces decisively defeat the Californians, moving northward quickly. -March 1942: Britain, buoyed by Japanese advancements, expands its hold on the American Arctic, capturing Yellowknife at the end of the month. -April-July 1942: Japan captures the North American west coast up to the northern border of Oregon, and advance eastward to capture Boise and Nevada, officially drawing the Desereti Republic into the war. -August 6, 1942: Fall of Sacramento sees the Californians surrender to Japan, which is formally annexed to the Japanese Empire. -August 19-23, 1942: Fall of Salt Lake City sees the Republic of Deseret surrender to Japan, with the Mormon Church brutally persecuted by the Japanese. -September-November 1942: Further advances by Japanese forces see the Republic of North Mexico fall on November 17, 1942, with Japan brutally suppressing riots in Arizona when it rounds up the entire town of Arizona Springs (population 14,351), massacring the men and boys and enslaving the women and girls, who were later turned into sex slaves. -December 4, 1942: British forces reach their maximum extent in Ontario, capturing Barrie and reaching the outskirts of Toronto and Buffalo, which survive British assaults due to the astute tactics of Roman Legatus Claudius Servius. -1943: Furthest advance by the Axis powers globally (reached officially on June 5, 1943 after a British-Japanese breakthrough in Texas against the Romans). During this year and the year afterward, the atrocities of the Holocaust start to reach its peak, with systemic persecutions being taken place against (though not exclusively limited to) the Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and African-descendant populations of Axis occupied territories, as part of a Falken policy to promote "racial purity", or "Frangistanianism". Manhattan and sites in Birmingham, Dothan and Greenville, in operation since 1940, become epicentres in North America for Frangistani polices. -1944: Following the D-Day operations of June 6 (which saw a massive reinforcement campaign undertaken in the Niagara Escarpment beforehand), the anti-Axis Alliance (informally called the "Allied" powers, though they had no formal name) begin to turn the tide of the war against the Axis, with the British driven from New York State and Barrie by the end of September. -January 1945: Roman forces expel Japanese and British forces from Texas and Deseret, with the Americans leading the pushback in Carolinian territory. -August 13, 1946: Liberation of Los Angeles formally expels the Japanese from most of their North American gains, they hold out in Oregon -August-December 1946: Quebecois and Ontarians lead resistance movements that prove instrumental in evicting the British from their northern North American gains. This further fuels the fire for Canadian independence. -1947: Roman and American forces are successful in the liberation of Oregon and Carolina, sole Axis holdings in North America reduced to Long Island, New York. -1948: Axis powers expelled from North America on December 8, 1948 after decisively defeating the British at Central Park, New York City. -1949: Recovery of over five million Falken documents by Roman and American forces during combat operations reveal the realities of the Frangistanian policies, exposing the extent of the Holocaust to much shock worldwide. -July 6, 1950: Armistice reached after the Bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, ending combat operations in World War II. -October 9, 1950: World War II officially ends as Peace of Poznan- largely mediated by the Romans- is reached. The agreement sees the British Empire almost completely dismantled, with the Carolinians, Romans, Soviets, Spanish, and Americans making inroads. India, in particular, falls mostly to the U.S., although some states become independent. -c. 1951: Allies attempt to restore the Australian Republic after World War II, but the continent lacked a unifying figure. Thus, while an Australian Parliament is formed headed by a Chancellor and a federal republic declared, the Australian government proves wildly ineffective, operating in practice as figureheads with the states retaining their functional independence. -1951: Campaigning by Mackenzie King sees the Republic of Canada established via a referendum in November of that year. -1951-52: Roman Aurean Program: a series of loans provided by the Romans to both the Soviets and the North American states help rejuvenate the economies battered by World War II. Rome, culturally aligned with both sides of the Cold War, hoped their gesture would ease tensions, but it only served to galvanize them even more. -1951-55: The trials of the Falken Party, including that of Rotler, reveal to the world the greater details of the Frangistani policies, turning worldwide sentiment towards policies against racism and other forms of “natural discrimination”, including a revival of the “simpler, more pragmatic” philosophy of modern classicism. In North America, the trials inspire the formal creation of the Civil Rights movement led by Martin Luther King, Jr. to combat natural discrimination across the continent (where it existed in the U.S., California and Canada on a cultural level primarily but on a political and cultural level everywhere else). -1952: Canadians defeat the British at the Battle of Zanzibar and move quickly on to the mainland. By the end of the year, Tanzania is annexed to Canada. -January 16, 1953: U.S. President Harry S. Truman delivers a crushing setback to the Civil Rights movement, when he asserted that the movement was funded by Polish interests. The move was simply political, as Soviet leader Josef Stalin had called on the Carolinian government to end its racist policies in a bid to gain public influence in North America. Despite no clear evidence that the Civil Rights campaigners had any Communist ties, public opinion (already somewhat tepid) shifted dramatically away from the movement almost overnight, with many politicians asserting their “natural discrimination” policies were different from Frangistanism because, as Truman himself put it, “at least we are nice and respectful about it”. -1953-61: Official U.S. Presidency of noted anti-communist Joseph McCarthy, who moved forward on the anti-Soviet rhetoric his predecessor Truman started. McCarthy's Presidency is marked by several rights-curtailing measures that were designed solely in the name of “combating Communism”. McCarthy would become known his divisive style of politics, which would influence many future politicians and later splinter the Civil Rights movement. -1953: The Darwin Affair sees American and Soviet intrigues clash for the first time in the Cold War, with southeast Asia and Australia in particular becoming a hotbed for Cold War tensions. -1954: California defeats a Desereti invasion force that sought to “wipe out Hollywood”, asserting the Californian film industry (which was revived by the Aurean Program) was corrupting Desereti society, even though Hollywood films had been banned in Deseret since 1922. -March 3, 1955: California invades Deseret and occupies Salt Lake City, tensions only relieved by the intervention of McCarthy, however, a state of war continued to exist between California and Deseret. -July 2, 1955-December 20, 1955: Montgomery Bus Boycott led by King in protest of Montgomery, Alabama's policy of segregated seating. Tensions flared up when Rosa Parks refused to give up her seat at the front to a white passenger, which was followed by the Carolinian government issuing arrest warrants for both Parks and King. Only the intervention of Roman Emperor Keylusus, who granted both Parks and King asylum, did Carolina back down from its demands and pass a law outlawing segregated seating. -1956: Shark Bay Offensive sees the Government of Salinas defeat an American-backed resistance movement. Salinas Commissioner Ryan Walter- whose Communists were democratically elected- responds by telling McCarthy to stop interfering with Australian affairs. -March 2, 1957: Due in large part to Mormon activism, Birea, the U.S. and Deseret reach a trade agreement and a military alliance, as Birean Emperor Alan MacMullan is an anti-Communist. The deal is condemned by the Romans, citing Birea's human rights abuses, particularly against women. -May-September 1957: The Outback Winter War sees the various states of Australia all engage in combat with each other, supported by either the U.S. or the Soviets, with the Peace of Adelaide restoring the status quo. -April 1958: South Han China, aided by American resources, thwarts a Communist attempt to overthrow the Emperor. -September 10, 1958: Newly crowned Carolinian Emperor Calvin Fryar tells the world to “go suck an egg” during his inauguration speech. -February 16-28 1959: Battle of Indee sees pro-American factions overthrow the Government of Salinas who were supported by the Soviets. -March 1-4 1959: Soviet-backed factions defeat American-backed factions during the Western Australian Civil War, allowing the Soviets to install Communists in all of the Chiefdoms. -March 3-16, 1959: American-backed Imperiale defeats Soviet-backed Senatus at Goldfinch Hill. -March 16-April 30, 1959: American-backed forces overthrow the Communist regime of Warny, attack Roman forces near Melbourne but are decisively crushed. -May 11, 1959: Pro-American Baron of Queensland is overthrown and quickly assassinated by Soviet-backed forces. -May 23, 1959: Soviets assassinate another pro-American national leader, this time the President of the Republic of South China -June-July 1959: Count of Coyne assassinated and replaced by American forces. -August-October 1959: Other proxy battles occur in Australia and Southeast Asia but all are practical stalemates. McCarthy's poll numbers drop significantly as the Americans tire of war. -November 11, 1959: The Day We Were Forgotten sees the Americans and Soviets reach a peace treaty- brokered by Rome- where both agree to respect the Australian Republic's sovereignty and treat the provinces as neutral entities. The treaty strengthens the Australian central government for a few years before the continent again sees the provinces reassert their functional independence. -1960: John Fitzgerald Kennedy takes advantage of McCarthy's slide in the polls and steamrolls his ways to the White House. His Presidency would mark a decided return of liberalism to American politics, as he would side with the Civil Rights movement on many issues. -1962: The Miquelon Incident sees the Soviets set up nuclear weapons on the island of Miquelon, just off the coast of Newfoundland. Tensions mount as the world is on the brink of nuclear war, until Keylusus steps in and gets the Soviets to remove their weapons from Miquelon in exchange for the Americans removing their weapons from the island of Ulvon in the Gulf of Bothnia. -August 28, 1963: March on Washington by King (where he delivered his famous I Have A Dream speech) sees Kennedy pass a number of Civil Rights-favourable policies. -November 22, 1963: Assassination of Kennedy in Calgary by Lee Harvey Oswald. Oswald was later revealed to be a Carolinian sympathizer, tasked by Carolina to assassinate Kennedy when his policies defending the Civil Rights movement gained steam. -1964: Gulf of Tonkin Incident sees the United States pledge ground troops to assist anti-communist forces in South Vietnam, official start of the South China War. -1964-65: Civil Rights Act and Voting Rights Act of 1965 passed by Kennedy's successor, Lyndon Johnson, marks the pinnacle of American liberalism. -1966: Battle of Zuma's Pass: Carolina defeats the Soviet invasion of New Dixie, its African colony. -1967: Rise of Pierre Elliott Trudeau as Prime Minister of Canada solidifies the ascent of liberalism in North America, leaving the Carolinians and Desereti the lone conservative bastions on the continent. -1968: South China War gains steam as Soviets commit troops to assisting the Republic of South China, while California assists South Han, Rome intervenes in Thailand and Carolina helps crush a Communist revolt in the Khmer Republic. -1968-69: The Zodiac Killer and the murders of the so-called "family" of Charles Manson bring the concept of serial killers to the North American criminal consciousness. -1970: With the intervention of Canada, Northern Mexico and Deseret, the entire continent of North America is involved with the South China War, all opposed to the Soviet Union, except for Rome, who back the Soviet Union after the Treachery of Saigon. -1972: General strike in Detroit forces automakers to raise the wages of their workers to be able to compete with foreign companies like British Leyland and Fiat who offered better conditions. -1973: Formosa Clashes sees the Romans formally declare war on both the North American states and the Soviet Union. By mixing aggressiveness with attrition, Rome is able to decisively defeat both sides by 1978, enabling it to annex Indochina as the province of Khmerium. -1974: Richard Nixon resigns as U.S. President after being implicated in the Watergate scandal. -1977: Carolinian Emperor Jeb Lowry institutes free college tuition for the state college system. This policy is still in force today. -1979: Northern Mexico Drought sees over 450,000 die as a result of crop failures, relief comes in the form of subsidies from the Roman and American governments. -1979-81: Constantinople Hostage Crisis sees the Roman Embassy in Constantinople seized by Byzantine and Soviet troops, with all the workers taken hostage. The crisis remains unresolved until Ronald Regan (elected President in 1980) reaffirms American relations with Rome, noting Rome's peace-making abilities and fearing a Byzantine-Soviet invasion of the Roman Empire. Regan's actions would bring Rome closer to the U.S., formalizing an alliance in 1984. -1984: Election of Progressive Conservative Brian Mulroney in Canada, Republican George Deukmeijan in California and Jose Nunez in Northern Mexico, coupled with the election of Conservative Prime Minister Margret Thatcher in Britain in 1979 and the continuing presence of Keylusus in Rome sees North America dominated by conservative governments, all of which are aligned against the Soviet Union. -October 19, 1987: Black Monday sees stock markets crash worldwide, leading to a global recession. North America's recession lasts until 1989. -June 6, 1988: Battle of Coos Bay- an accidental incursion by Soviet submarines into U.S. waters leads to a small battle between the Americans, Californians and Soviets that ends in a stalemate. It was thought this would lead to total war but the recession would not allow resources for a war. -January 9, 1990: Breach of the Berlin Wall by Polish troops marks the opening salvo of the Third World War. -March-August 1991: Polish offensive into Dutch territory sees the Poles decisively defeat the Dutch, who had American help, allowing them to annex the Dutch Empire by the end of August. -September 2, 1991: Canada declares war on the Soviet Union, as does Carolina, California, Deseret and Northern Mexico. Fearing a repeat of Constantinople, Rome stays neutral in the war at this point. -September 15, 1991: Public opinion polling sees support for the war erode amongst the North American and Soviet populaces, pro-independence movements begin as a result. -October-December 1991: American counter-offensive drives the Poles from Dutch territory, overrunning the Polish Empire and bringing American troops to the border with the Soviet Union for the first time. -February 12, 1992: Americans and Soviets clash at the Polish border. -March 20, 1992: Americans break through Soviet defences and get to the outskirts of Moscow, raising fears of Soviet nuclear deployment. -April 5, 1992: Quebec formally declares independence, the first North American province to separate. -April-May 1992: Americans and Soviets fight to a stalemate outside of Moscow, war of attrition begins. -June 17, 1992: Intrigues dissolve the United Kingdom, with the country splitting into England (who assumes control of the British colonies), Wales and several small states in Ireland. -July-August 1992: New Dixie overrun by the Soviets, who liberate it permanently from Carolina. -August 1992: Scotland attempts a reconquest of Birea in Borneo but is quickly beaten back by English and Carolinian troops. -October 11, 1992: Explosion near Grise Fjord marks the "point of no-return" for the Third World War- although the explosion was never confirmed to be a nuclear bomb (and studies show it wasn't), it raised enough of a panic that the populaces no longer had any trust left in their governments, so all over North America and the Soviet Union various peoples began to revolt and seek independence. -December 8, 1992: Faced with too many riots and a war that had gotten too costly, U.S. President George H.W. Bush and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev make a joint announcement officially granting independence to their countries' constituent administrative divisions, with both countries maintaining only small, "rump state" territories. The two leaders hoped by making a joint announcement it would quell the rioting- it only made it worse. -1993: With much of the world's territory descending into anarchy, Rome and Aram (recently formed by Rome after a treaty with the Soviets) ally together to go on a worldwide "peacekeeping" mission, restoring order and shaping new polities in their wake. The political re-organization was finalized on December 8, 1993 by the Treaty of San Francisco. North American Union -January-March 1994: Following the Treaty of San Francisco, talks went underway with the various North American leaders, spearheaded by Rome and Aram (though largely by Rome), to finalize the new polities. The talks were spurred by a new hawkish government in England as well as the collapse of the central and southern Mexican states into the "Drug Republics" the previous year that threatened the continent's security. -April 9, 1994: Charter of the North American Union signed and ratified in Washington, USA. The Charter applied the American Constitution (viewed as a "middle ground" between the Canadian, Californian, Carolinian, Desereti and North Mexican versions) across the entire Union. The Charter also nominally restored the American federal system, although in practice Union members were effectively independent of each other, reducing Congress to the role of "mediators", with the Charter explicitly stating that the Romans administer the Union as a protectorate. However, despite that, Congress and the President still wound up wielding considerable influence, especially on a global scale. -April 30, 1994: NAU political parties reach agreements to merge, forming the Unionist Party (a merger of the Liberal Party of Canada and the Democratic Party, with several members of the New Democratic Party of Canada and the Bloc Quebecois joining as well) and the Federalist Party (a merger of the PCs and Republicans). -May-June 1994: First primaries see the nomination of Bill Clinton for the Unionists and Preston Manning for the Federalists. -November 8, 1994: First NAU Presidential election sees Clinton defeat Manning. -January-October 1995: Romans build the NAU's broadband Internet and cellular phone signal networks as part of yearly infrastructure improvements. -1996: Ontario invades Michigan and annexes the extreme south and northeast, taking over Michigan's half of Ohio as well. The Ontarians are stopped from taking Detroit, though. -1997: Rise of Donald Trump as Emperor of New York, New Yorker Army defeats the Dutch near Bandar Abbas which allows New York to annex the Maldive Islands. This makes New York the first NAU-based state to own territory outside of the Union. -September 11, 2001: Mall of America Attacks perpetuated by an unknown terrorist organization that set the mall ablaze before hijacking an aircraft leaving Minneapolis and crashing it intentionally into a field, over 1,000 people die in the attacks. -2003: Second NAU Presidential election sees Federalist Stephen Harper defeat Unionist John Kerry. -2005: Virtue, formed in response to Rome forming the NAU, gains a foothold on the North American continent (aside from English colonies) with the addition of Utah (formerly part of Deseret) and Lakotah. The Montanan Empire remains unaligned. -2006: Alberta and Ontario almost go to war after an Alberta schooner crossed Ontarian territorial waters. Only the intervention of the new Roman Emperor, Valerius IV, prevents the conflict. -2009: An unexplained fire occurs at Toronto's Union Station transit station. -2011: Federalist Joseph Reddick defeats Unionist candidate Jack Layton. -February-November 2013: Mysterious death of Ted Bundy led to the commissioning of the Milner Report, which found that NAU law enforcement had a "gloryhound" culture that only aggressively pursued cases which were perceived to be "easy" and yield the highest amount of prestige while ignoring other cases. The Report called for drastic changes in law enforcement in the NAU to fix its "cultural problem". -c. 2013: Likely in response to the Milner Report is The Virus, a social phenomenon where crime is used as a form of political protest. Rome views the movement as a threat to North American security and has devoted resources to combat it, which has garnered public support though some question the chilling effect it may have on public speech. -2015: Appointment of Eva Avita as North American Prefect by the Roman government in response to The Virus. -2016: Signing of the Treaty of Buffalo between the world's powers, dividing North America into two "halves"- Canada and America- while recognizing New York's functional independence. The two halves serve to better define "official spheres of influence" in North America, with Rome influencing Canada and Aram influencing America, but the political and structural administration is otherwise unaltered. Member States *Alberta *Aramean North America (Aram) *Arapho Kingdom *Arctic Republics (collective name for the Inuit territories and Saskatchewan) *Arizona *Arkansas *Bennett *Carolina * Californian Republics (collective grouping for the states in the California region) *Chihihuahua *Coahuila *Colorado *Desert Republic *Illinois *Indiana * Iowa *Kentucky *Kiowa Kingdom *Maine *Manitoba *Mexicali *Michigan *Minnesota *Missouri *New York *North Tacoma *Oklahoma *Ontario *Osage *Pawnee Kingdom *Pennsylvania *Ponca Empire *Quebec *Roman Empire (Roman Columbia, Borderlands, Adirondacks, West New York, Roman Ohio) *Sonora *South Tacoma *United States of America *Virginia See also * The Milner Report * The Virus * Juan Castro * Emeldic people Category:Nations of Vicendum Category:Political Unions of Vicendum Category:Economic Unions of Vicendum